UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, announced that Israeli symphonic metal act Orphaned Land, legendary traditional metal act Raven and German power/progressive metal act Rising Storm have been added to the cruise.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Orphaned Land, Raven and Rising Storm join previously announced acts, with 19 more acts still to be announced:

Legendary U.S. death metal act Obtituary has been added to the upcoming 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise. In one of the two sets played on board, the band will premiere its entire upcoming new album, which is as of yet untitled.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Obituary joins previously announced acts, with 22 more acts still to be announced:

Given the somewhat hostile reaction of many people to Sunday Old School’s coverage of Christian rock superstars, Stryper last week, it seemed like a good idea to go in the complete opposite direction for the next column. So today, we will leave behind the sunshine of Orange County, California for the frostbitten plains of Norway, as Sunday Old School examines one of the most commercially successful black metal bands, Satyricon. The band began life in 1990 under the name Eczema, before deciding to adopt the black metal sound and style the following year and changed their name to Satyricon. Shortly after this switch, the band, consisting of founding drummer Exhurtum and bassist Wargod recruited vocalist and guitarist Satyr to the fold, although Exhurtum would be fired after the recording of their first demo, "All Evil," due to him being perceived as more interested in girls than kicking down grave stones, while Wargod departed to become a United Nations soldier. Satyr, along with fellow guitarist Lemarchand soon added a new member to the ranks in the form of drummer, Frost, who made his recording debut with Satyricon on their second demo, "The Forest is my Throne," which would be the last recognised recording Lemarchand made with the group before being fired, although he did record the guitars for their first full length album, "Dark Medieval Times," which was released in 1994 through Moonfog Records.

The record received a very favourable response and was quickly followed by a second album, "The Shadowthrone" only a few months later, which likewise was regarded very highly. The sophomore effort was also seen as a harsher approach to black metal, shedding the acoustic guitars and medieval influences of their debut and was also notable for Emperor member Samoth handling the bass guitar duties, although this would be his only contribution as a fully fledged member of the band. Since his departure, Satyricon has remained a duo in principle, consisting of Satyr and Frost, with a number of session musicians brought into to perform live and record, some of which have been quite high profile, such as Darkthrone member Nocturno Culto, who contributed guitars to the third Satyricon album, "Nemesis Divina" under another pseudonym, "Kvelduv." The third outing continued to see praise roll in and helped raise their profile as one of black metal’s highest quality acts. More...

Victory, the legendary German traditional metal act featuring Accept guitarist Herman Frank, is the latest band announced for the upcoming 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Victory joins previously announced acts (Note: Kamelot cancelled its appearance due to schedule conflicts), with 23 more acts still to come:

The annual 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise has resumed announcing bands for the 2014 installment, the latest of which is: Satyricon, The Haunted and Cripper. For The Haunted, it will be the first show with the new lineup (see introduction video here).

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

The trio joins the previously announced acts (Note: Kamelot cancelled its appearance due to schedule conflicts), with 24 more acts still to come:

Satyricon released a new music video for the track "Phoenix." The song appears on the band's latest album - simply titled "Satyricon" - which was issued in September via Roadrunner Records. The song and video features guest vocalist Sivert Høyem of the Norwegian rock act Madrugada. A review for the album can be found at this location.

Taiwanese ensemble Chthonic is readying to kick off a massive European trek supporting Norwegian act Satyricon.

Slated to begin on November 7th in Copenhagen, the extensive journey marks the band's first performances on European soil since the release of latest studio album "Bú-Tik" (reviewed here) and will also mark the group's first-ever shows in Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Spain, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Luxembourg.

"We are looking forward to the tour in Europe, especially because we will be visiting some cities for the first time," said the bassist Doris Yeh. "Chthonic's music is full of Oriental martial art spirits and traditional music; we are confident that the blend of traditional elements and heavy metal could bring some very different sensations to those audiences."

Satyricon has released a lyric video for the track "The Infinity of Time and Space," which can be heard below. The track comes from the band's latest self-titled album (reviewed here). The full album's track listing is:

Update: for some reason the record label appears to have set the stream to be unavailable in most countries. If the player below gives an error message that it's not available in your location, most of the songs have made their way online and can be heard at YouTube.

Satyricon has teamed up with Metalhammer.co.uk to stream the band's full new self-titled album online.

You can stream all of "Satyricon" (reviewed here) in the player available below. The album is due out this coming September 17th via Nuclear Blast Entertainment (September 9th in Europe).

"We are back. Sorry it took so long, but we needed the time to be able pull off a record like this," states band frontman Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven. "Comparing this one to previous records is time wasted, it is Satyricon; constantly on the move. Naming this record Satyricon was the most obvious thing in the world. We have never done a record which captures the spirit of this band in such a way. Ever. It will demand a lot from you as a listener, but I know you will love it. It will grow on you and that is why it will stay with you forever. We won't tour as much in the future as we used to, and that will just make every tour more special. This album is for you and ourselves. It is our moment!" More...

The eighth studio album by Norwegian black band Satyricon will be released in North America on September 17th via Nuclear Blast Entertainment (the album is due out September 9th in Europe).

"We are back. Sorry it took so long, but we needed the time to be able pull off a record like this," states band frontman Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven. "Comparing this one to previous records is time wasted, it is Satyricon; constantly on the move. Naming this record Satyricon was the most obvious thing in the world. We have never done a record which captures the spirit of this band in such a way. Ever. It will demand a lot from you as a listener, but I know you will love it. It will grow on you and that is why it will stay with you forever. We won't tour as much in the future as we used to, and that will just make every tour more special. This album is for you and ourselves. It is our moment!"

"Satyricon" was recorded in Norway, produced by Sigurd Wongraven, and mixed by Adam Kasper. The album features a guest vocal appearance by fellow Norwegian Sivert Høyem of the rock group Madrugada. In-studio photos can be viewed on the band’s official Facebook page. More...

Satyricon has announced a self-titled album, and follow-up to 2008's "The Age of Nero," is due out this coming September 9th, 2013.

Speaking about the band's new album and return to the live fray in Europe, front man Satyr comments:

"We are back! Sorry it took so long, but we needed the time to be able pull off a record like this. Comparing this one to previous records is time wasted, it is Satyricon; constantly on the move. Naming this record 'Satyricon' was the most obvious thing in the world. We have never done a record which captures the spirit of this band in such a way. Ever.

"It will demand a lot from you as a listener, but I know you will love it. It will grow on you and that is why it will stay with you forever. We won't tour as much in the future as we used to, and that will just make every tour more special. This album and this tour is for you and ourselves. It is our moment!"

"Satyricon" was produced by Satyr and recorded in the band's native Norway, and then mixed by Adam Kasper.

Amorphis has announced the band will be aboard the Sweden Rock Cruise on the Silja Galaxy, which leaves from Stockholm (SE) to Turku (FI) on Friday, October 5th and returns on the following day. Ticket prices start at 595 SEK per person (incl. cabin and access to all concerts and other onboard entertainment). Other bands to perform include Satyricon, Portrait, Rage, and more.

A number of documentaries pertaining to specific scenes and genres in heavy metal, most notably grindcore and black metal, have been posted online via YouTube and are now available to watch, uninterupted, from start to finish. "Grindcore - 85 Minutes Of Brutal Heavy Metal," features segments on a number of bands signed to Earache Records during the 1990's, including Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Godflesh, Carcass and Paradise Lost amongst others and includes live footage, interviews and music videos.

Meanwhile, two different documentaries on black metal have also been posted online, including "Until The Light Takes Us," which examines the black metal scene in Norway during the 1990's and looks at such bands as Burzum and Darkthrone, complete with interviews with Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell and the then incarcerated Varg Vikernes. Alternatively, there is "Murder Music: A History of Black Metal," a British documentary hosted by Contraband Candy host René Ackermann that gives a much broader insight into black metal, tracing the genre's roots from the theatrics of Black Widow to the Christian black metal scene, and everything in between. You can view all of these films below. More...

The organisers of the Czech Republic's Brutal Assault festival has announced a further three confirmations for this year's event. Newly added to the bill are Scottish hardcore punk/crossover thrash legends The Exploited, Bay Area thrash veterans Forbidden and American mathcore outfit The Dillinger Escape Plan. The festival will take place from August 11th-13th in Josefov, Czech Republic.

The organisers of Norway's Hole In The Sky festival have announced that this year's edition of the event will be the last, concluding twelve years of history. However, it promises to go out with a bang as some of the biggest names in extreme metal will be performing at the event with Immortal, Mayhem, Satyricon and Enslaved being the latest confirmations. A message from the organisers reads as follows:

"There’s a saying that all good things must come to an end. For twelve years we’ve been fortunate enough to meet many of our favourite artists, shared some incredible metal moments with fans coming from all over the world, and worked with some of the best in the scene.

"Twelve years is a long time and we’ve always invested a lot of time and effort in making the festival the best it possible can be and never compromise.

"Hole in the Sky has been a thing we’ve taken great pride in and it would be a very sad thing to let the festival suffer due to other commitments and responsibilities that comes along as you get older, so basically we want go out on a high note when we still feel inspired and on top of the game. Mind you, we will go out in a spectacular fashion. More...